Need advice ASAP please

[bdefrawi]

Both of my hermit crabs have buried themselves in the substrate and have not surfaced in 3 weeks. I don't know what to do. I know they haven't surfaced because their food bowls and water dishes are untouched and I setup a camera to monitor them at night for any activity and there is no activity. Please advise...

[Giner13]

Sounds like you have some molters!! Just wait it out until yo start seeing some surface activity. Mine were just recently down for almost 2 months, but they're mid size hermits.


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[NinjaPurgs]

They are most likely molting which is perfectly natural. This process can take months depending on the crab size. The best thing you can do is to leave them alone. Do not disturb them, and definitely do not go digging around looking for them. Here is the link to the section about molting. http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 23&t=92527

[bdefrawi]

Thank you for your reassurance. Can you advise me how to care for their enclosure during the molting process? Do I continue to change their water and saltwater daily? Do I mist the substrate? I worry that the sitting substrate will grow mold if I keep misting. Also, I took out their hiding log when they went under a few weeks ago bc it was growing mold. Should I put it back in or will I risk crushing them? Thanks for all your help!!

[amwilliams]

I've got 3 molters right now. I have been just monitoring humidity and temps to keep everything stable. I've sprayed a little and I doubt it would be harmful, but you don't want to over saturate.

I have been changing water at a lower frequency (every few days instead of every day) and same with food. Normally I feed fresh food, but I've switched to dried food during this time so I don't have to worry about mold as much. Again, I am just changing at a lesser frequency and hoping I see their lil faces again soon!


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[Just Jay]

congrats! molting is a very stressful time for both crabber and crab. i currently have three of my four down as well. Tina also only came up about two or three weeks ago. when none were up i just offered dried/dehydrated foods as well. i also will add a calcium powder and make sure i offer protein. honey is very good at this time as well. i wont change my food or water daily. just enough to avoid molding. water bowls i just make sure are clear and topped off.

woods will always grow mold in the tanks environment. most organic matter will. for wood i spray with saltwater then put them in the over at 350 until the wood is warm. i do that twice. also when im changing food or misting i will spray wood and netting down with SW either every day or other day. so far no mold!

[Kermie16]

Bdefrawi, how long have u had ur hermies? Like the members said above, most likely they are molting. For upkeep of tat during this process, keep up with ur regular water changes as u never know when they will resurface. If u have bubblers then really only have to change water weekly. If no bubblers then change every 2-3 days. Dry dehydrated foods are perfect. I usually keep mine on a seashell near the back of the tank next to UTH to help decrease chance of mold and change out every 2 days. Some members like to redecorate their tats when all of their hermies are down. If ur hiding log is wood, u can soak in MSW then bake as mentioned above - when it's completely dry, u can gently put it back in the tat. The main thing to remember with the sub when u have molters is to avoid packing down on the sub. So, placing the log gently back on the sub should be fine. Good luck! Hope they pull through successfully!!


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[Rawrgeous]

I think everyone covered it, but I wanted to say welcome to the HCA! Check out our care guides when you get the chance. Link: viewtopic.php?f=51&t=92457 There are also several stickies in each subforum that are really helpful and informative! The molting one would probably be especially informative to you now.